Nonlinear video editing system

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is provided for editing video which has at least two components: a digital database system and a nonlinear video editor. The digital database system stores source video segments and has the capability to decimate the source video segments into decimated video segments of a selected decimation quality. The nonlinear video editor is connected to selectively access decimated video segments and source video segments from the digital database system. The nonlinear video editor is capable of using the decimated video segments during editing of a video program and accessing the source video segments to produce the program at a different quality than the selected video.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to editing video on a nonlinear video editingsystem.

Nonlinear video editing systems typically receive analog or digitalvideo from a video tape recorder, digitize and compress the video, andstore the compressed digital video on local storage for random accessduring creation and assembling of a video program. The stored digitalvideo data available to such systems are typically limited by the amountof available local storage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one general aspect, the invention features an apparatus for editingvideo which has at least two components: a digital database system and anonlinear video editor. The digital database system stores source videosegments and has the capability to decimate the source video segmentsinto decimated video segments of a selected decimation quality. Thenonlinear video editor is connected so as to selectively accessdecimated video segments and source video segments from the digitaldatabase system. The nonlinear video editor is capable of using thedecimated video segments during editing of a program and then producingthe program.

In another general aspect, the invention features an apparatus forediting video which has at least two components: a remote digitaldatabase system storing remote source video segments and a localnonlinear video editor. Both of these components are configured forconnection to a network. The local nonlinear video editor has localstorage for local source video segments and the capability to access theremote source video segments from the digital database system. The localnonlinear video editor also displays video segment identifiers for thesegments being included in a video program, the identifiers indicatingwhether the video segments included in the program are remote sourcevideo segments or local source video segments.

In yet another general aspect, the invention features an apparatus forediting video which has at least two components: a remote digitaldatabase system storing remote source video segments and a localnonlinear video editor. Both of these components are configured forconnection to a network. The nonlinear video editor has local storagefor local source video segments and the ability to access the remotesource video segments from the digital database system. The nonlinearvideo editor displays video segment identifiers for video segments beingincluded in a video program substantially simultaneously with displayinga search mechanism for searching the remote source video segments forselection for inclusion in the program.

In still another aspect, the invention features an apparatus for editingvideo which has at least two components: a remote digital databasesystem storing source video segments and a local nonlinear video editor.The digital database system and nonlinear video editor are connected toa network. The local nonlinear video editor is connected so as toselectively access the source video segments from the digital databasesystem by transmitting over the network information identifying theselected source video segment to the digital database manager. Thedatabase system, in response, transmits over the same network theselected source video segment to the nonlinear video editor.

In yet another general aspect, the invention features an apparatusincluding a digital database system and a nonlinear media editor. Thedigital database system which stores source audio segments and has thecapability to resample, at a selected resampled quality, the storedaudio segments into resampled audio segments. The nonlinear mediaeditor, which may be a nonlinear video and/or audio editor, is connectedso as to selectively access the resampled audio segments and sourceaudio segments from the digital database system and is capable of usingthe resampled audio segments during editing of a media program andproducing the media program.

In another general aspect, the invention features an apparatus forediting video including a remote digital database system and a localcomputer, being configured for connection to the network, and operatinga nonlinear video editing application. The remote digital databasesystem stores source video segments and is configured for connection toa network. The nonlinear video editing application is capable ofsupplying the remote digital database system with a selected criterionfor searching the digital database system and using results of thesearch during editing and producing of the program.

Certain implementations of the invention include one or more of thefollowing features.

A user searches the digital database system to find source audio andvideo segments which the user then may use in editing a video program.The user is provided with various displays for inputting the searchcriteria to be used for searching the digital database, reviewing andimporting audio and video segments found during the search, and editingof a video program incorporating some of those found audio and videosegments.

The nonlinear video editor displays video segment identifiers in a videoprogram editing region (e.g., a graphical user interface window), wherethe video program editing region is used for editing the program. Theprogram editing region may include a video time line indicator. Thenonlinear video editor can use one or more channels of video and displayvideo segment tracks in the program editing region corresponding tothose channels of video. The nonlinear video editor can also use one ormore channels of audio and display audio segment tracks in the programediting region corresponding to those channels of audio.

The nonlinear video editor displays a digital database system selectionregion (e.g., a graphical user interface window) for selecting a digitalsystem from among a plurality of digital database systems.

The nonlinear video editor displays a database search region (e.g., agraphical user interface window) for inputting search criteria forsearching the digital database system and displaying a search resultindicator. The search result indicator can include an indication of thenumber of source video segments, stored on the digital database system,which were found during the search.

The nonlinear video editor displays a found remote source video segmentsregion (e.g., a graphical user interface window) for displaying videosegment indicators for remote source video segments found in a searchperformed by the digital database system. A video identifier can be aframe from a corresponding found remote source video segment found inthe search.

The results (e.g. segment identifiers for video segments found in thesearch) of a search performed by the digital database system may beimported from the digital database system into the nonlinear videoeditor and placed in a bin. Also, a source video segment found in asearch may be sent by the digital database system to the nonlinear videoeditor and be incorporated directly in a video program, for example, ata pre-selected point in the time line of the program.

Prior to transmitting a found video segment, the video segment may bedecimated and the user may use the decimated video segment to edit thevideo program. The digital database system therefore may include adecimation module for decimating the decompressed video segment.Decimating the source video segments includes at least one of temporallydecimating, spatially decimating, or compressing the source videosegments.

The digital database system transfers decimated video segments over thenetwork, at a requested decimation quality, to the nonlinear videoeditor, for example, after performing a search. Note that a decimationquality includes a quality of a non-decimated video. The nonlinear videoeditor receives the decimated video segment and represents the decimatedvideo in the bin or represents the decimated video segment on a timeline of the program on the display (or in a video program editing regionon the display).

The user can edit a video program using the decimated video segments.The nonlinear video editor is capable of editing a plurality of sourcevideo segments some of which are stored on a remote digital databasesystem and some of which are stored on the local computer on which thenonlinear video editor is implemented. The nonlinear video may visuallyrepresent those source video segments which are stored on the remotedigital database system differently than those stored on the localcomputer. For example the nonlinear video may represent the source videosegments stored on the digital database system by a different color orsymbol on the display of the nonlinear video editor than the sourcevideo segment stored on the local computer.

During editing the program, the nonlinear video editor produces a listof commands and uses the list of commands to produce the final programusing local and remote source video segments. After editing and duringproducing the video program, the nonlinear editor accesses the sourcevideo segments (whether local or remote) and produces the finalizedvideo program.

As part of accessing the source video segments, the nonlinear videoeditor is capable of selecting a portion of a decimated video segmentand accessing a portion of the source video segment corresponding to theportion of the decimated video segment. The nonlinear video editor canaccess a specific portion of the source video segment by transmittingover the network information identifying that portion of the decimatedvideo segment or the corresponding portion of the selected source videosegment to the digital database system. Information identifying thedesired portion may be a relative video segment start time and arelative video segment end time. The nonlinear editor can transmit theserelative start and end times to the digital database system, in whichcase the digital database system uses them to determine a portion of thesource video segment that corresponds to the specific portion requestedby the nonlinear video editor. The digital database system thentransmits that portion of the source video segment to the nonlinearvideo editor.

In some implementations, the nonlinear video editor and the digitaldatabase system may be implemented on the same computer. In otherimplementations, the nonlinear video editor may be implemented on alocal computer. The digital database system may located in a remotelocation and store the source video segments remotely. The nonlinearvideo editor and digital database system may then be connected to anetwork for communicating with one another.

In some implementations, the communication between the local nonlinearvideo editor and the remote digital database system take place over thesame network. That is, for example, instead of two networks, where oneis used for video data and the other is used for control data, the samenetwork is used for transmitting both types of data. The network may becharacterized by, for example, being implemented by a collection of datalines and network components for transmitting both video and controldata, where the same data lines and network components may be used bythe local nonlinear video editor and remote digital database system totransmit both video and control data.

The remote digital database system may store remote source audiosegments remotely and the local nonlinear video editor may have localstorage for local source audio segments and the ability to access theremote source audio segments from the digital database system. The localnonlinear video editor may display on the display audio segmentidentifiers for audio segments being included in a video programsimultaneously with displaying a search mechanism for searching theremote source audio segments for selection for inclusion in the program.

In some implementations, the digital database system which stores sourceaudio segments and has the capability to resample, at a selectedresampled quality, the stored audio segments into resampled audiosegments. The nonlinear editor, which may be a nonlinear video and/oraudio editor, may be capable of accessing all or part of the sourceaudio segments to produce the program at a second selected resampledquality, which may be the same or different than the first-mentionedselected resampled quality.

In certain implementations, the digital database system stores thesource video segments as compressed video segments. The digital databasesystem may include a decompression module for decompressing a compressedsource video segment.

Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the followingadvantages.

By allowing a user of a nonlinear video editor to have access to aremote digital database, the invention allows the user to access largelibraries of source audio and video segments (or clips). Therefore, theuser need not be limited by the storage capability of the computerrunning the nonlinear video editor application or by the collection ofsource video segments present on that computer (or local externalstorage devices attachable to that computer). Also, many users can haveaccess to a particular library (i.e. database).

Decimating the video prior to transmitting it allows the invention tooptimize, in a variety of ways, the process of storing and transmittingvideo across a network. Decimating the video for transmission allowsadjusting the decimation quality to meet the requirements set by userpreferences, network limitations, or the nonlinear editor's locallimitations. At the same time, in certain circumstances, since the videois decimated prior to transmission, any compression technique used forstoring the video segments need not be optimized for transmitting thevideo across the network but can instead be optimized for optimalstorage (e.g. optimized for storing high quality video).

The invention allows using decimated video segments for editing a videoprogram and then retrieving the video segments at a different decimationquality (which includes no decimation at all for the data retrieved forthe final program, not for the video segments retrieved for editing,which have a reduced amount of data with respect to the stored videosegments) to produce the final program. Therefore, if video segments areto be retrieved at a higher quality, only those video segments that areactually used in the final program need be retrieved. Moreover, thevideo segment can be retrieved at off-peak times, so as not to.overburden the network during peak hours (e.g. 8 am-6 pm). Moreover, theinvention allows retrieving only those portions of the video segmentsthat are to be included in the program, rather than retrieving the videosegments in their entirety. This further reduces the burden on thenetwork.

The invention allows using the same network for both command and videodata. Therefore, no additional network needs to be installed toimplement the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system including nonlinear audio and videoeditors and digital database managers connected to a network.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a digital database manager of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the digital database manager of FIG. 2 andcomponents of a decimator of the digital database manager of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the components of a nonlinear video andaudio editor of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display used during editing on a monitorof the FIG. 3 nonlinear editor.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a graphical user interface window in the displayof FIG. 4 for inputting criteria to be used by the digital databasemanager of FIG. 2 to search its associated databases.

FIG. 5A is a diagram of a graphical user interface window for selectinga digital database manager to be searched.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a graphical user interface window in the displayof FIG. 4 for displaying results of searches by the digital databasemanager of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a graphical user interface window in the displayof FIG. 4 for creating an audio and video program.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a display used for editing a video clip on amonitor of the FIG. 3 nonlinear editor.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a display used during creating a program on amonitor of the FIG. 3 nonlinear editor.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of the operation of the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 shows an alternative flow chart for the operation of the systemof FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an audio and video system 10.It includes PC based local nonlinear audio and video editors 12 andremote digital database systems 11 connected to network 16. Variousembodiments of audio and video system 10 may have various features. Forexample, network 16 may be a private local or wide area network or apublic network such as the internet. Database managers 14 and theirassociated databases 40 may be available only privately, e.g. owned byan enterprise (such as a firm, corporation, etc.) and be available onlyto users of that enterprise. Or, database managers 14 and theirassociated databases 40 may be commercially available to the public,i.e. owned by an enterprise and be commercially available to usersoutside of that enterprise who pay a fee to access the data in thedatabases. Nonlinear audio and video editors 12 are well known and may,for example, be PC based editing systems available under the Media 100trade designation, generally described in commonly assigned application“Synchronizing Digital and Audio Video”, Ser. No. 08/049,987, filed onMar. 16, 1993, incorporated by reference. Digital database systems 11include digital database managers 14 which may, for example, be adigital database manager commercially available under the Cinebase,version 1.2 trade designation and databases 40. Digital databasemanagers 14 manage storage media storing databases 40 which store, asdigital video and audio data, source audio and video clips of variouslengths. This data is typically stored as compressed digital video. Inother embodiments, the video is stored without being compressed. Inaddition, digital database managers 14 may have the video decimationcapability described further herein. Briefly, decimation refers totechniques for reducing data used to define video images, oftentransforming video images from a higher quality to a lower quality,including techniques such as video compression, data compression,subsampling, thumbnailing, etc. Although FIG. 1 shows three nonlineareditors 12 and two database managers 14, the number of nonlinear editors12 and database managers 14 may vary in various embodiments.

We will describe the structure and operation of audio and video editingsystem 10 in detail below. However, to provide an overview of theoperation of system 10, we will first describe in general terms theoperation of the system from the point of view a user of system 10.Generally, such a user uses system 10 to produce audio and videoprograms of various length by editing and combining digital audio andvideo clips stored in remote databases 40 and in local storage media ofone of nonlinear editors 12. Therefore, system 10 permits the user touse remote databases 40 which can typically store much more data thanlocal storage media of nonlinear editors 12.

When creating a program, the user at one nonlinear editor 12 can createa program from locally stored and remotely stored digital audio andvideo data. The user can use that nonlinear editor to select one ofdigital database managers 14. The user can then search for audio andvideo clips in the databases 40 of the selected database manager 14 thatwould match some criteria which the user inputs into the selectednonlinear editor 12. In other embodiments, the user need not select aspecific database manager 14 and can search the databases 40 of all or aselected group of database managers 14 at once. FIG. 4 shows a display70 on a monitor 22 of nonlinear editor 12, where the display includes asearch window 62. The user uses search window 62 (better shown in FIG.5) to input the criteria to be matched during the search of the selecteddatabases 40. For example, the user may request clips which match keywords “1950” and “truck.” Nonlinear editor 12 communicates the searchrequest and criteria over network 16 to the selected database manager14. Database manager 14 then searches its digital databases 40 for clipsthat match the received search criteria. Database manager 14 then sendsa clip identifier for the matching audio and video clips (e.g., in thecase of video, a representative frame) over network 16 to nonlineareditor 12.

After receiving the clip identifiers for the matching clips, the usercan then select those clips which the user would like to import fromdatabases 40 to possibly use in the program. To do so, the user uses asearch result and selection window 60 (shown in display 70 in FIG. 4 andalso in FIG. 6) shows the results of search by the selected databasemanager 14. Search result and selection window 60 allows the user toselect those video and audio clips the user wants to import into thenonlinear editor for possible editing and inclusion in the program.

After selecting which video and audio clips to import, the selecteddatabase manager 14 sends those clips over network 16 to the selectednonlinear editor 12. In some embodiments, the selected database manager14 decimates the video clips prior to sending them over network 16. Inthat case, after the user has finalized the editing of the program anddecides to produce the final program, database managers 14 send theclips at a different quality of decimation or not decimated at all.Moreover, in some embodiments, only portions of any clip that will beincluded in the final product is sent over network 16 at a differentquality of decimation or not decimated at all. In this manner, lessbandwidth is required during the editing stage. This allows foroptimization of the usage of bandwidth of network 16, for example, bytransferring the non-decimated video data during network off-hours.

Following importing of the selected audio and video clips, the user usesa program window 50 (partially shown in display 70 in FIG. 4, bettershown in FIG. 7) to edit and include the imported clips into the editedclip.

Having described briefly an overview of the operation of system 10, wewill now describe the structure of database managers 14 and nonlineareditors 12. We will then describe in detail the graphical userinterfaces (GUI) the user uses to operate nonlinear editors 12. We willthen describe the overall operation of system 10 in reference to theoperation of one of nonlinear editors 12.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is seen that digital database manager 14includes a digital media manager 38 connected to network 16 andassociated databases 40. The databases 40 store source digital video andaudio data. In some embodiments, digital database manager 14 includes adecimator 42 (which can operate in software or hardware) to decimatevideo accessed from database 40 prior to transmission over network 16,as will be described below. Each clip in database 40 is stored togetherwith an associated record that may contain a number of attributes usedfor indexing and searching the database, such as subject description,category, length, and date of creation. Database manager 14 uses theuser input search criteria to search these associated records to findmatching clips.

FIG. 2A shows an embodiment of a digital database manager 12 andcomponents of a decimator 42 of that digital database manager 14. Inthis embodiment, decimator 42 includes a decompression module 44, abuffer memory 45, and a decimation module 46. Buffer memory 45 may be,for example, a line, field, frame, or multi-frame buffer and may beimplemented as a FIFO buffer. Decompression module 42 and decimationmodule 46 are implemented in software. In other embodiments, either one,or both, of these modules may be implemented in hardware or somecombination of hardware and software. Buffer memory 45 is formed from apart of the memory of the digital database manager 14. The operation ofdecimator 42 will be described below in more detail.

The data path from databases 40 via database manager 14 to network 16 isas follows. The digital media manager 38 reads video and audio data andfeeds that data to decimator 42. Decompression module 44 of decimator 42decompresses the data and stores the decompressed data in FIFO buffermemory 45. Decimation module 46 then reads the data from FIFO buffermemory 45, optionally decimates the data, and outputs the data to thestandard network interface 47 which sends the data over network 16 toits destination, i.e. one of nonlinear editors 12.

Referring to FIG. 3, it is seen that nonlinear video editor 12 includescomputer 18 typically having an associated keyboard input device 20,computer monitor 22, and optional speakers 24. VTR 28 and associatedplayback monitor 30 are also optionally connected to computer 18, via ajunction box 29, to input or receive analog audio and video. In someembodiments, local storage of computer 18 includes local externalstorage devices such as external CD-ROM and disk drives. As shown inFIG. 3, computer 18 is connected to network 16 via a standard networkinterface 47. Computer 18 has video editing expansion cards 34 connectedthereto. Video editing application software 36 is installed on computer18 (including a portion on expansion cards 34). Computer 18 is connectedto local disc storage 32. Nonlinear editor 12 also includes a digitalmedia manager (DMM) interface layer 37 (FIG. 1) which mediates theinteraction between the video editing application software 36 anddatabase managers 14. Interface layer 37 communicates with video editingapplication software 36 through an application programmer interface(API) 39. Interface layer 37 also communicates with database managers 14across network 16. Furthermore, interface layer 37 provides appropriateuser interface displays for a variety of functions, as will be describedbelow.

Application software 36 and interface layer 37 are designed such thatthey operate as an integrated or single application or software package.Therefore, to a user of the nonlinear video editing application software36, accessing database managers 14 and searching the databases aretransparent, although these functions involve interface layer 37. Theuser can readily and easily switch between editing a video program andsearching for audio and/or video clips to include in that program. Insome embodiments, the video editing and database search windows(embodiments of which will be described in detail below with referenceto FIGS. 5-9) appear substantially simultaneously (by which we also meanwindows which appear alternatively). In those cases, because videoediting application software 36 and interface layer 37 act essentiallyas one program, the user can easily switch between various windows tosearch the databases and, at the same time, edit and produce theprogram.

FIG. 4 shows a display 70 on monitor 22. Display 70 includes threegraphical user interface (GUI) windows: search window 62, displayed byinterface layer 37 (better shown in FIG. 5), which the user uses toinput the criteria which the user wants one of the database managers 14to use to search for audio and video clips in its databases 40; searchresult and selection window 60, displayed by interface layer 37 (bettershown in FIG. 6), which the user uses to select those video and audioclips the user wants to import from database 40 over network 16 tononlinear editor 12; and program window 50, displayed by editingsoftware 36 (better shown in FIG. 7), in which individual video clipsare represented by linear bars 52, 54, 56. Another GUI window isdatabase selection window 64 (shown in FIG. 5A) which the user uses toselect one of database managers 14. We will now describe each of theseGUI windows in detail.

Referring to FIG. 5A, database selection window 64 allows the user toselect a database manager 14 by highlighting a database manager iconrepresenting that database manager in a list 65 of database managericons and then clicking on connect button 66. (Note that, as is wellknown in the arts, various features of a GUI window may be “clicked on”,i.e. pointed to by a graphic pointer guided by a pointing device such asa mouse and then selected by the user pressing a button of the pointingdevice. The features that may be clicked on to be manipulated includepull-down menus, buttons, scroll bars, etc.) Similarly, the user cande-select a database manager by highlighting its icon and clicking ondisconnect button 67.

Referring to FIG. 5, search window 62 includes a search criteria inputsegment 80 in which the user inputs search criteria that may be used bythe selected database manager 14 to search for audio and/or video clips.The user can input multiple search criteria which will be saved and maybe combined with one another. Search criteria input segment 80 of window62 includes the following components:

a pull-down menu 82 which offers a selection of logical operators suchas “if”, “and”, “or”, etc. Note that FIG. 5 does not show the entiremenu 82 but only a currently selected item from menu 82, an attributeselection window 84 in which the user can select which attributes of theclips will be searched,

an operator pull down menu 86 in which the user can select an operatorsuch as “is”, “after or at the same date”, “contains”, etc., and

a user value window 88 in which the user inputs the value which shouldbe used for the search.

Search window 62 also features a selected search segment 90 in which thesearch criteria input by the user in search criteria input segment 80appears. After the user inputs each search criterion in search criteriainput segment 80 and clicks on “Add Item” button 92, the inputted searchcriterion appears in select search segment 90 and is added to thepreviously inputted criteria, if any, to generate the user inputtedsearch criteria. A “find” button 100, starts the searching process bycausing interface layer 37 to send a request over network 16 to theselected database manager 14 to perform the search. Note that once oneof database managers 14 performs a search, it sends the search resultsto interface layer 37 of nonlinear editor 12 over network 16. Uponreceiving the search results, the number of clips which were found isdisplayed in the “Assets found” segment 104. In that case, a “ShowAssets” button 106 is activated. (In FIG. 5, this button is shown asbeing dimmed and therefore deactivated.) The user can click on thisbutton to view the search results.

Referring to FIG. 6, search result and select window 60 is displayedafter the user clicks on the “Show Assets” button 106 in window 62. Inother embodiments, search result and select window 60 is automaticallydisplayed when the search is completed. Window 60 displays the resultsof the search. Window 60 includes a search result segment 110 and aselected clips segment 120. When the user clicks on the “Show Assets”button 106, database manager 14 which performed the search sends tononlinear editor 12 via interface layer 37 a clip identifier for eachclip in the search result. The clip identifiers may be key frames 116for video clips or descriptions 118 for audio clips. Key frames 116 anddescriptions 118 are then displayed in a window 112.

The user can view these clip identifiers and determine which one of theclips the user wants to import from database manager 14 to nonlineareditor 12 over network 16 for editing into the program. Selecting theclip identifiers to be imported proceeds as follows. The user can selectany one of the clip identifiers by clicking on the clip identifier tohighlight it and then clicking on an “Add” button 113 to add the clip toa window 122 in selected clips segment 120. The user can select all theclips in the search result by clicking on an “Add All” button 114.Similarly, the user can remove a selection from window 122 by firstclicking that clip identifier to highlight it and then clicking on a“remove” button 125 so as that the clip is no longer selected to beimported. The user can also remove all of the selected frames byclicking on a “Remove All” button 124. The user may select to import theclips into a selected bin or a default bin. The user may also selectthat, upon importing a clip, the clip is automatically incorporated intoa video program's time line.

Referring back to FIG. 5, after the user has selected at least one clipfor importing from database 40, an “Import” button 102 is activated (thebutton is shown as dimmed and deactivated). The user can click on thisbutton which causes nonlinear editor 12 via interface layer 37 to send arequest over network 16 to import the selected clip from the selecteddatabase manager 14. The selected database manager 14 then sends a copyof the clip to nonlinear editor 12.

If the requested clip is a video clip, in some embodiments, databasemanager 14 first decimates the clip and then sends the decimated clip tononlinear editor 12. We will now describe the operation of decimator 42.As indicated above, the video data is typically stored as compressedvideo data in databases 40. However, the stored video clips aretypically not significantly compressed so as to best preserve theirimage quality. However, for a variety of reasons, it may not bedesirable to send such high quality video data to nonlinear editor 12.For example, it may be that the user requires only low quality images.Or, network 16 may not have high enough bandwidth to supporttransmission of high quality video clips. Or, it may be that nonlinearvideo editor 12 does not have enough local storage or processing power,as in the case with a lap-top computer, to support editing of highquality video clips. Therefore, decimator 42 allows decimating the videoclip in various ways, which are usually different from the type ofcompression used for storing the video clip on databases 40, but arebetter suited for requirements of various applications. Decimator 42 isable to do this because using a decompression stage and a decimatorstage divorces the compression technique used for storing the video clipfrom the decimation technique used to satisfy specific requirements oftransmitting or editing the video clip. In this way, decimator 42 allowsoptimizing the compression technique used for storing video to preserveimage quality while optimizing decimation technique used fortransmitting the data to meet the requirements set by user preferences,network limitations, or the nonlinear editor's local limitations.

There are generally three basic modes of decimation. First is spatialdecimation, where the image is made smaller, as in the case ofsubframing, subsampling or thumbnailing. Second is temporal decimation,as in when every second frame is skipped. Third is compression, suchvideo compression as in JPEG or MPEG compression algorithms or datacompression (which does not necessarily affect the video spatially ortemporally but merely compresses the data based on some data compressionalgorithm). These various modes can be combined in various ways or usedsingly, depending on the required needs of a particular application.Decimation module 46 can perform these various modes to support avariety of applications.

The imported clips may be directly incorporated into the program, aswill be described below, or be first placed in user selected or defaultvirtual storage units called “bins.” Bins are special folders ordirectories used for organizing video clips. The user can place pointersto various clips stored on local storage in bins and can later use thosebins and the pointers in those bins to access the stored video and/oraudio clips. For example, the user may use a bin for all clips relatingto Alaska, as shown in FIG. 9. (Note that clips in a bin may be thenrepresented in a bin by clip identifiers.)

The imported clip may then be edited and incorporated into an editedprogram. This process will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7and 8.

Program window 50 is the main window used for creating an editedprogram. Program window 50 features a video time line ruler 130 whichshows the time line of the edited program. A current time indicator(CTI) 132 indicates the time code of the current frame displayed in editwindow 160 (FIG. 8). A current time code 134 corresponds to the positionof CTI 132.

Program window 50 also features a video specification region 140 and anaudio specification region 150. Video specification region 140 has aclip sequence strip 142 that shows the clip name that will be playing atany particular point in the program. In embodiments in which only thedecimated clip is imported, a clip to be incorporated into the programmay be stored in one of two locations: remotely in databases 40 orlocally in media storage of the selected nonlinear editor 12 itself. Theselected nonlinear editor 12, when displaying the clip, also displays anindication as to whether the clip is located in the local storage ofnonlinear editor or in database 40. To do this, nonlinear editor 12displays the two clip names differently. In FIG. 7, for example, theclip names are marked with the letter “L” for local and letter “R” forremote. In other embodiments, the clip names may be displayed indifferent colors.

In the described embodiment, nonlinear editors 12 can support up to twovideo streams, shown in program window 50 as channel A 144 and channel B146. Other embodiments may support more video streams, e.g. four. Aneffects strip 148 shows any particular video effects that will be doneat any point in the time line, e.g. fading channel A to channel B asshown by effects time line 149.

Audio specification region shows information for four stereo audiotracks A1-A4 supported by nonlinear editor 12. The four audio tracks maybe played simultaneously at varying strength to provide for variouscombinations of different clips. An example would be track Al playing anarrative, track A2 playing a background music, track A3 playing thesound track of the video clip at that time line, and track A4 playingthe sound of the video clip that is being faded in. An audio clip may bedisplayed by its description as shown for audio track Al or by itsacoustic wave form as shown for audio track A2. The volume of the audiotrack and the balance between the left and right stereo channels may beadjusted by a volume adjustment curve 152 and a stereo pan line 154,respectively.

Any clip to be incorporated into the program may be dragged and droppedinto program window 50 from a bin, as shown in FIG. 9, or be directlyimported from the remote database into the time line. The clips may beinserted, based on the user's choice, into the program at the end of theprogram or at a point in the time line indicated by the CTI. Referringto FIG. 8, the user can use an edit window 160 to edit the video clip bydouble clicking on clip name in the time line. Alternatively, the usercan double click on a clip in a bin and edit the clip prior toincorporating the clip into the time line.

In edit window 160 (FIG. 8), a clip time line 162 shows the time line ofthe clip. An in point marker 163 and an out point marker 164 show thebeginning and end of the edited segment of the clip to be used in theprogram. A clip duration indicator 161 displays the duration of theentire clip. The relative time of the in point and out point and theduration of the edited segment are displayed in a time code segment 166.Various buttons 168 at the bottom of window 160, when clicked, causevarious functions to be performed by nonlinear editor 12. In window 160,from left to right, these buttons perform the following functions: stop,play, play selected clip from the in point to the out point, framebackward, frame forward, loop, jog/shuffle, next clip and previous clip.A key frame indicator 169 indicates from where in the video clip the keyframe is taken. The key frame may be changed by dragging key frameindicator along the clip time line. Zoom buttons 165 cause nonlineareditor to zoom in and out. A time indicator 167 shows where in the timeline of the program the clip is inserted.

The net result of the editing is a detailed list of edit instructionswith respect to the various audio and video clips. After the user hasfinalized the program, the user selects from a pull-down menu (notshown) to produce the final program which causes the nonlinear editor touse the detailed instruction list to edit and produce the video andaudio clips into the final program. In the case of embodiments whereimported clips are decimated, the nonlinear editor retrieves the videoclip from the database 40, by requesting the clip from the appropriatedatabase manager 40 over network 16. The retrieved video clip may bedecimated for a different video quality or not at all, depending onrequirements of a particular application.

In the case where the video clip has been trimmed during editing, theretrieval can be limited to that portion of the video clip to beincluded in the final program. This reduces the usage of the bandwidthof network 16. In some embodiments, nonlinear editor 12 identifies thatportion of a video clip by sending the in point and out point timecodes. The appropriate database manager 14 retrieves the appropriatevideo or audio clip, uses the received in point and out point time codesto select the appropriate segment of the video clip, and then sends thatsegment over the network to nonlinear editor 12. In other embodiments,the required segment of the video clip is identified by frame numbersassigned by database manager 14 to the frames of the video clip.Database manager 14 then uses the received frame numbers to select theappropriate video frames and sends the selected frames over network 16to nonlinear editor 12. In some embodiments, the retrieved portion willinclude additional video at its beginning and end (referred to as “trimhandles”). Trim handles allow fading from one clip to another, withoutshortening the portion of the clip selected by the user to beincorporated into the program.

Having described the various windows used by the user to search, import,and edit audio and video clips to produce an edited program, we will nowdescribe two flow charts of the operation of system 10 with reference tononlinear editor 12. These flow charts describe only two examples ofpossible operations of system 10.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart 200 of the operation of nonlinear editor 12when non-decimated clips are imported. In step 205, the user starts thenonlinear editor 12. The user then selects the digital database manager14 which the user wants to search for audio and video clips (step 210)and then selects, by selecting the appropriate menu item from apull-down menu (not shown) in window 50, to import clips from thatdatabase (step 212). This results in interface layer 37 displayingsearch window 62. The user then uses search window 62 to input thesearch criteria and instruct the selected database manager to perform asearch of its database (step 215). The user then may use the “ShowAssets” button to view the clip identifiers of the clips in the searchresult and selection window 60 and select the clips to be imported (step225). If the user clicks on the “Import” button in search window 62 toimport clips he or she selected, the selected database manager 14 sendsthe non-decimated clips over network 16 to nonlinear editor 12 (step230). Nonlinear editor 12 then determines whether to place the clipidentifiers of the imported clips in a default or a user-selected bin,or to incorporate the clip into the program (step 235). To do so, thenonlinear editor determines which is the top most window (i.e. thewindow most recently used by the user) and imports the clips into thatwindow. If the nonlinear editor determines to include the clips in aselected or default bin (step 240), the nonlinear editor will do so(step 245). If not, the nonlinear editor will incorporate the clip intothe time line of the program (step 247). The user may also elect toperform more searching by, for example, clicking on the search window 60to activate the window (step 250). If not, the user may then edit theretrieved clips to create a program (step 255), also accessing locallystored video clips if desired. During the editing process, the user mayelect to perform more searches by, for example, clicking on searchwindow 60 (step 260). The user may also elect to end editing and toproduce the finalized program based on the list of editing instructionscreated in step 260 (step 265). Whenever the user elects to perform moresearches (e.g steps 230 and 250), the user may elect to select adifferent database manager 14 to search (step 270).

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart 300 of the operation of nonlinear editor 12when decimated clips are imported from database managers 14. The stepsin this flow chart which are the same as flow chart 200 in FIG. 10 arenumbered with the same reference numbers. The differences between flowcharts 300 and 200 will now be described. Generally, in flow chart 300,when clips are imported they are decimated first. Therefore, in step305, after the user clicks on the “Import” button in step 230, nonlineareditor 12 asks the user to specify the decimation quality by asking theuser to input the desired kilo-byte rate of decimation, that is thenumber of kilo-bytes one frame of video should be after decimation (step305). Note that in other embodiments, the decimation quality may bespecified in different manners. The selected database manager 14 thendecimates the clip to be imported and sends the decimated version of theclip over network 16 to nonlinear editor 12 (step 310) After the userends editing the program, in the case of clips which nonlinear videoeditor 12 only has decimated versions of, nonlinear editor 12 mayoptionally request from the appropriate database managers the clips at adecimation quality (including zero decimation for the data retrieved forthe final program, not for the video segments retrieved for editing,which have a reduced amount of data with respect to the stored videosegments) different from the previous decimation quality (step 315). Instep 315, nonlinear video editor 12 may request that the clips betransmitted in their entirety or that only the appropriate portions ofthem be transmitted. It should be noted that step 315 is optional,because if the user elects to produce the final program using thealready transmitted decimated clips then it is not necessary to requestthose clips. After completing step 315, nonlinear editor 12 produces theprogram according to the audio and video editing instructions createdduring the editing process.

Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

For example, referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, in an alternative embodiment,the user may be required in step 250 to either select the appropriatemenu item from a pull-down menu to begin a new search (i.e. go to step212) or select a new database (i.e. go to step 210) in order to begin anew search.

In other embodiments, digital database system 11 and the nonlinear videoeditor 12 being used by the user may not be separated by network 16 andmay be located on the same computer.

In some embodiments of the invention, digital database managers 14include an audio resampler. The audio resampler has the ability toresample by, for example, converting the audio clip into an analogsignal and then resampling the audio clip. Such a resampler can be usedto lower the amount of data representing the audio clip if the samplingrate or the number of bits representing each sampled instance isreduced. Therefore, the audio resampler allows digital database managers14 to optimize the transmitted audio clips in the same manner asdecimator 42 allows digital database managers 14 to optimize thetransmitted video clips. The resampled audio clips can then be used in asimilar manner as the decimated video clips, as described in the aboveembodiments. Such an audio resampler provides similar capabilities andadvantages with respect to audio clips as the decimator does withrespect to video clips. In some embodiments, audio clips may be used bynonlinear media editors, which may for example be audio only editors orvideo and audio editors, to produce media programs such as audio only oraudio and video programs.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of nonlinear video editing comprisingstoring source video segments on a digital database system, selecting asaid source video segment having a stored decimation quality, retrievingsaid selected source video segment having a stored decimation quality,decimating said selected source video segment into a decimated videosegment at a first decimation quality that is more decimated than saidstored decimation quality such that said decimated video segment hasless data than said source video segment, accessing said decimated videosegment at a nonlinear video editor, using said decimated video segmentduring editing of a video program at said nonlinear video editor, andproducing said video program by accessing all or part of said sourcevideo segment from said digital database system at a second decimationquality that has more data per frame than said first decimation qualityto produce said video program at a less decimated decimation qualitythan said first decimation quality.
 2. The method of claim 1 whereinusing said decimated video segment comprises selecting a portion of saiddecimated video segment.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein accessing saidsource video segment comprises accessing a corresponding portion of saidselected source video segment corresponding to the portion of thedecimated video segment.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein accessing saidcorresponding portion comprises transmitting over a network informationidentifying the portion of the decimated video segment or thecorresponding portion of the selected source video segment to thedigital database system and said database system transmitting over thenetwork said corresponding portion of the selected source video segmentto the nonlinear video editor.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein saidportion of said decimated video segment is characterized by a videosegment start time and a video segment end time measured relative to areference point, wherein said information sent over the networkcomprises the video segment time and end time of the portion of thedecimated video segment, and wherein the digital database system usesthe video segment start time and end time of the portion of thedecimated video segment to determine the corresponding portion of saidsource video segment.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said storingsource video segments further comprises compressing the source videosegments.
 7. The method of claim 6 further comprising decompressing saidselected source video segment after said selecting and prior to saiddecimating.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein decimating said selectedvideo segment comprises at least one of temporally decimating, spatiallydecimating, or compressing said selected source video segment.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein accessing the decimated video segmentcomprises transferring said decimated video segment over a network. 10.The method of claim 1 wherein said nonlinear video editor is implementedon a local computer and the video program is produced on said localcomputer, and wherein the digital database system is located remotely.11. The method of claim 10 wherein producing said video program includesaccessing all or part of said source video segment from said digitaldatabase system to produce said video program at a selected decimationquality.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein said selected decimationquality includes a different decimation quality than said firstmentioned quality.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein accessing saidselected source video segment comprises transmitting over a networkinformation identifying the selected source video segment to the digitaldatabase system and said digital database system transmitting over thenetwork said selected source video segment to the nonlinear videoeditor.
 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising receiving thedecimated video segment and representing said decimated video in a binof said nonlinear video editor.
 15. The method of claim 13 furthercomprising receiving the decimated video segment and representing saiddecimated video segment on a time line of the program on a display. 16.The method of claim 10 wherein editing of the video program comprisesediting a plurality of source video segments at least one of which isstored on the local computer.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein atleast one of the source video segments stored on said digital databasesystem is visually represented on a display of said nonlinear videoeditor to indicate that said one of the video segments is stored on saiddigital database system in contrast to visual representation of saidsource video segment stored on the local computer indicating said sourcevideo segment being stored on the local computer.
 18. The method ofclaim 17 wherein said at least one of the source video segments storedon said digital database system is visually represented by a differentcolor on a display of said nonlinear video editor than said source videosegment stored on the local computer.
 19. The method of claim 17 whereinsaid at least one of the source video segments stored on said digitaldatabase system is visually represented by a different symbol on adisplay of said nonlinear video editor than said source video segmentstored on the local computer.
 20. The method of claim 10 whereinaccessing said decimated video segment comprises transmitting saiddecimated video segment over a network.
 21. The method of claim 10further comprising producing a list of commands when editing the programand using the list of commands to produce said program using theaccessed source video segment.
 22. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising obtaining from a user a search criterion for searching saiddigital database system to find said selected source video segment andsearching said digital database system.
 23. The method of claim 1further comprising storing source audio segments on the digital databasesystem, selecting a said source audio segment, resampling, at a selectedresampled quality, said selected audio segment into a resampled audiosegment, accessing said resampled audio segment, and using saiddecimated video segment during editing of the video program at saidnonlinear video editor.
 24. The method of claim 23 wherein producingsaid video program includes accessing all or part of said source audiosegment from said digital database system to produce said video programat a second selected resampled quality.
 25. The method of claim 24wherein the second selected resampled quality is different than saidfirst-mentioned selected resampled quality.
 26. Apparatus for editingvideo comprising a digital database system storing source video segmentshaving a stored decimation quality, said digital database system havingthe capability to decimate said source video segments into decimatedvideo segments of a first decimation quality that is more decimated thansaid stored decimation quality such that said decimated video segmentshave less data than said source video segments, and a nonlinear videoeditor connected to selectively access said decimated video segments andsource video segments from said digital database system and beingcapable of using said decimated video segments during editing of a videoprogram and producing said video program by accessing all or part ofsaid source video segments from said digital database system at a seconddecimation quality that has more data per frame than said firstdecimation quality to produce said video program at a less decimateddecimation quality than the first decimation quality.
 27. The apparatusof claim 26 wherein the nonlinear video editor is capable of selecting aportion of a decimated video segment.
 28. The apparatus of claim 27wherein the nonlinear video editor accesses a source video segment byaccessing a portion of said source video segment corresponding to theportion of the decimated video segment and the digital database systemtransmits that portion of the source video segment.
 29. The apparatus ofclaim 28 wherein the digital database system and the nonlinear videoeditor are configured for connection to a network, wherein the nonlinearvideo accesses said corresponding portion by transmitting over thenetwork information identifying the portion of the decimated videosegment or the corresponding portion of the selected source videosegment to the digital database system and said digital database systemtransmits over the network said corresponding portion of the selectedsource video segment to the nonlinear video editor.
 30. The apparatus ofclaim 29 wherein said portion of said decimated video segment ischaracterized by a video segment start time and a video segment end timemeasured relative to a reference point, wherein said information sentover the network comprises the video segment start time and end time ofthe portion of the decimated video segment, and wherein the digitaldatabase system uses the video segment start time and end time of theportion of the decimated video segment to determine the correspondingportion of said source video segment.
 31. The apparatus of claim 26wherein the digital database system stores the source video segments ascompressed video segments.
 32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein thedigital database system comprises a decompression module fordecompressing a compressed source video segment and a decimation modulefor decimating said decompressed video segment.
 33. The apparatus ofclaim 32 wherein decimating said source video segments comprises atleast one of temporally decimating, spatially decimating, or compressingsaid source video segments.
 34. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein thedigital database system and the nonlinear video editor are configuredfor connection to a network, wherein the digital database systemtransfers a decimated video over the network to the nonlinear videoeditor.
 35. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the nonlinear video isimplemented on a local computer and the digital database system storesthe source video segments remotely.
 36. The apparatus of claim 35wherein the nonlinear video editor edits the video program by editing aplurality of source video segments at least one of which is stored onthe local computer.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein the nonlinearvideo comprises a display and the nonlinear video visually represents atleast one of the source video segments stored on said digital databasesystem differently on the display of said nonlinear video editor thansaid source video segment stored on the local computer.
 38. Theapparatus of claim 37 wherein the nonlinear video visually representssaid at least one of the source video segments stored on said digitaldatabase system by a different color on the display of said nonlinearvideo editor than said source video segment stored on the localcomputer.
 39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the nonlinear videovisually represents said at least one of the source video segmentsstored on said digital database system by a different symbol on thedisplay of said nonlinear video editor than said source video segmentstored on the local computer.
 40. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein thedigital database system and the nonlinear video editor are configuredfor connection to a network, wherein the digital database systemtransmits said decimated video segment over the network.
 41. Theapparatus of claim 26 wherein the nonlinear video editor is furthercapable of accessing all or part of said source video segments toproduce said video program at a selected decimation quality.
 42. Theapparatus of claim 41 wherein the selected decimation quality isdifferent than the first-mentioned decimation quality.
 43. The apparatusof claim 41 wherein the nonlinear video editor accesses said selectedsource video segment by transmitting over the network informationidentifying the selected source video segment to the digital databasemanager and said digital database system transmits over the network saidselected source video segment to the nonlinear video editor.
 44. Theapparatus of claim 41 wherein the nonlinear video editor includes a binand receives the decimated video segment and represents said decimatedvideo in said bin.
 45. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the nonlinearreceives the decimated video segment and represents said decimated videosegment on a time line of the program on a display.
 46. The apparatus ofclaim 41 wherein the nonlinear video editor produces a list of commandswhen editing the program and uses the list of commands to produce saidprogram using the retrieved source video segment.
 47. The apparatus ofclaim 26 the nonlinear video editor obtains from a user a searchcriterion for searching said digital database system to find said sourcevideo segment.
 48. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein said differentdecimation quality and the selected decimation quality include a qualityof a non-decimated video.
 49. The apparatus of claim 26 said digitaldatabase system further storing source audio segments, said digitaldatabase system further having the capability to resample, at a selectedresampled quality, said audio segments into resampled audio segments,and the nonlinear video editor connected to selectively access saidresampled audio segments and source audio segments from said digitaldatabase system and being capable of using said resampled audio segmentsduring editing of a video program and producing said video program. 50.The apparatus of claim 49 wherein the nonlinear video editor is furthercapable of accessing all or part of said source audio segments toproduce said video program at a second selected resampled quality. 51.The apparatus of claim 50 wherein the second selected resampled qualityis different than the first-mentioned resampled quality.
 52. Apparatusfor editing video comprising a remote digital database system storingremote source video segments, said digital database system beingconfigured for connection to a network, and a local nonlinear videoeditor being configured for connection to said network and comprising adisplay, said nonlinear video editor having local storage for localsource video segments and the ability to access said remote source videosegments from said digital database system, said nonlinear video editordisplaying on said display video segment identifiers for segments beingincluded in a video program, said identifiers indicating whether thevideo segments included in the program are remote source video segmentsor local source video segments.
 53. The apparatus of claim 52 whereinthe local nonlinear video editor displays on said display the videosegment identifiers for the remote source video segments by a differentcolor than the video segment identifiers for the local source videosegments.
 54. The apparatus of claim 53 wherein said local nonlinearvideo editor displays on said display the video segment identifiers forthe remote source video segments by a different symbol than the videosegment identifiers for the local source video segments.
 55. A methodfor editing video comprising storing remote source video segments at aremote digital database system, said digital database system beingconfigured for connection to a network, and displaying, on a display ofa local nonlinear video editor, video segment identifiers for segmentsbeing included in a video program, said local nonlinear video editorbeing configured for connection to said network, said nonlinear videoeditor having local storage for local source video segments and theability to access said remote source video segments from said digitaldatabase system, wherein said video segments being included in saidvideo program comprise video segments selected among said remote andlocal source video segments, wherein said identifiers indicate whetherthe video segments included in the program are remote source videosegments or local source video segments.
 56. Apparatus for editing videocomprising a remote digital database system storing remote source videosegments, said digital database system being configured for connectionto a network, and a local nonlinear video editor being configured forconnection to said network and comprising a display, said nonlinearvideo editor having local storage for local source video segments andthe ability to access said remote source video segments from saiddigital database system, said nonlinear video editor displaying on saiddisplay a first graphical user interface (GUI) including video segmentidentifiers for video segments being included in a video programsubstantially simultaneously with displaying a second GUI including asearch mechanism for searching said remote source video segments anddisplaying remote video segment identifiers found in a search forselection for inclusion in said program by moving one of the remotevideo identifiers from the second GUI to the first GUI.
 57. Theapparatus for editing video of claim 56 wherein said local nonlinearvideo editor displays the video segment identifiers on said display in avideo program editing region, where said video program editing region isused for editing said program.
 58. The apparatus for editing video ofclaim 57 wherein said local nonlinear video editor displays on saiddisplay a video time line indicator in said program editing region. 59.The apparatus for editing video of claim 56 wherein said local nonlinearvideo editor uses at least one channel of video and displays on saiddisplay a video segment track in said program editing regioncorresponding to said at least one channel of video.
 60. The apparatusfor editing video of claim 56 wherein said local nonlinear video editoruses at least one channel of audio and displays on said display an audiosegment track in said program editing region corresponding to said atleast one channel of audio.
 61. The apparatus for editing video of claim56 further comprising a plurality of remote digital database systemsfrom among which said first-mentioned remote digital database system isselected, wherein said search mechanism includes a remote digitaldatabase system selection region for selecting said first-mentionedremote digital system from among said plurality of remote digitaldatabase systems.
 62. The apparatus for editing video of claim 56wherein said search mechanism includes a database search region forinputting search criteria for searching said remote digital databasesystem and displaying a search result indicator.
 63. The apparatus forediting video of claim 62 wherein said database search region furtherincludes a search criteria input region, wherein said database searchregion is used for inputting said search criteria for searching saidremote digital database system.
 64. The apparatus for editing video ofclaim 62 wherein said search result indicator comprises an indication ofthe number of remote source video segments found in the search.
 65. Theapparatus for editing video of claim 56 wherein said search mechanismincludes a found remote source video segments region for displayingvideo segment indicators for remote source video segments found in asearch performed by said remote digital database system.
 66. Theapparatus for editing video of claim 65 wherein one of said videoidentifiers comprises a frame from a corresponding found remote sourcevideo segment found in the search.
 67. The apparatus for editing videoof claim 56 wherein results of a search performed by said remote digitaldatabase system are placed in a bin.
 68. The apparatus for editing videoof claim 67 wherein said results include segment identifiers for videosegments found in said search.
 69. The apparatus for editing video ofclaim 56 wherein a remote source video segment found in a searchperformed by said remote digital database system is sent by said remotedigital database system to said local nonlinear video editor and saidlocal nonlinear video editor directly incorporates said remote sourcevideo segment in said program upon receiving said segment.
 70. Theapparatus for editing video of claim 69 wherein remote source videosegment is incorporated into said program at a pre-selected point in atime line of said program.
 71. The apparatus for editing video of claim56 wherein the remote digital database system further stores remotesource audio segments, said local nonlinear video editor having localstorage for local source audio segments and the ability to access saidremote source audio segments from said digital database system, saidlocal nonlinear video editor displaying on said display audio segmentidentifiers for video segments being included in a video programsubstantially simultaneously with displaying a search mechanism forsearching said remote source audio segments for selection for inclusionin said program.
 72. The apparatus for editing video of claim 71 whereinresults of a search performed by said remote digital database system areplaced in a bin.
 73. The apparatus for editing video of claim 72 whereinsaid results include segment identifiers for audio segments found insaid search.
 74. The apparatus for editing video of claim 73 wherein aremote source audio segment found in a search performed by said remotedigital database system is sent by said remote digital database systemto said local nonlinear video editor and said local nonlinear videoeditor directly incorporates said remote source audio segment in saidprogram upon receiving said segment.
 75. The apparatus for editing videoof claim 74 wherein remote source audio segment is incorporated intosaid program at a pre-selected point in a time line of said program. 76.A method for editing video comprising storing remote source videosegments at a remote digital database system, said digital databasesystem being configured for connection to a network, and displaying, ona display of a nonlinear video editor video, a first graphical userinterface (GUI) including video segment identifiers for video segmentsbeing included in a video program substantially simultaneously withdisplaying a second GUI including a search mechanism for searching saidremote source video segments and displaying remote video segmentidentifiers found in a search for selection for inclusion in saidprogram by moving one of the remote video identifiers from the secondGUI to the first GUI, said local nonlinear video editor being configuredfor connection to said network, and said nonlinear video editor havinglocal storage for local source video segments and the ability to accesssaid remote source video segments from said digital database system,wherein said video segments being included in said video programcomprise video segments selected among said remote and local sourcevideo segments.
 77. Apparatus comprising a digital database systemstoring source audio segments, said digital database system having thecapability to resample, at a selected resampled quality, said audiosegments into resampled audio segments, and a nonlinear media editorconnected to selectively access said resampled audio segments and sourceaudio segments from said digital database system and being capable ofusing said resampled audio segments during editing of a program andproducing said program.
 78. The apparatus of claim 77 wherein thenonlinear media editor comprises a nonlinear video editor.
 79. Theapparatus of claim 77 wherein the nonlinear media editor comprises anonlinear audio editor.
 80. The apparatus of claim 77 wherein thenonlinear editor is further capable of accessing said source audiosegments to produce said program at a second selected resampled quality.81. The apparatus of claim 80 wherein the second selected resampledquality is different than the first-mentioned selected resampledquality.
 82. The apparatus of claim 80 wherein the nonlinear mediaeditor is capable of selecting a portion of a resampled audio segment.83. The apparatus of claim 82 wherein the nonlinear video editoraccesses a source audio segment by accessing a portion of said sourceaudio segment corresponding to the portion of the resampled audiosegment and the digital database system transmits that portion of thesource audio segment.
 84. The apparatus of claim 83 wherein the digitaldatabase system and the nonlinear media editor are configured forconnection to a network, wherein the nonlinear media editor accessessaid corresponding portion by transmitting over the network informationidentifying the portion of the resampled audio segment or thecorresponding portion of the selected source audio segment to thedigital database system and said digital database system transmits overthe network said corresponding portion of the selected source audiosegment to the nonlinear media editor.
 85. The apparatus of claim 84wherein said portion of said resampled audio segment is characterized bya relative audio segment start time and a relative audio segment endtime, wherein said information sent over the network comprises therelative audio segment start time and end time of the portion of theresampled audio segment, and wherein the digital database system usesthe relative audio segment start time and end time of the portion of theresampled audio segment to determine the corresponding portion of saidsource audio segment.
 86. A method comprising storing source audiosegments on a digital database system, selecting a said source audiosegment, resampling, at a selected resampled quality, said selectedaudio segment into a resampled audio segment, accessing said resampledaudio segment, and producing said program.
 87. The method of claim 86wherein producing said program includes accessing said source audiosegment from said digital database system to produce said program at asecond selected resampled quality.
 88. The method of claim 87 whereinsaid second selected resampled quality includes a different resampledquality than said first-mentioned resampled quality.